The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for conveying timber.
In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for conveying a batch of timber pieces in such a way that the batch is dispersed into individual timber pieces
As is well known, in modern, high-capacity processing plants for handling timber which is sawed or planed, it is necessary to disperse batches or heaped packages of timber, or timber packages with spaces between layers of timber, in such a way that the timber pieces derived from the batch are conveyed individually one after the other while at the same time avoiding any damage to the timber pieces during dispersing thereof from a batch into individual timber lengths which are conveyed one after the other.
With presently known methods and apparatus of the above general type, in order to disperse timber packages or batches into individual lengths of timber which are conveyed one after the other, the timber batch or package is fed forwardly, usually by a conveyer, up to a discharge point where the batch or package of timber is dropped into a scattering shaft having upright walls one of which takes the form of a vertical log lift provided with projections for engaging the timber pieces and raising them individually up from the batch which has dropped into the scattering shaft. The angle of ascent of such a lift is so great that timber will not rise upwardly from the scattering shaft without engaging projections or grippers which form part of the lift. The extent to which the projections for engaging the timber extend from the conveyer is adjustable so that the timber pieces will be advanced upwardly from the batch in only a single layer or in other words with the timber pieces being conveyed upwardly in such a way that they must be situated only one after the other.
With constructions of this latter type, it is essential to lift timber pieces from the batch of timber initially from the lowest part of the batch, so that the lowermost timber pieces are initially under a load imposed by the timber pieces which are on top of the lowermost timber pieces. It is thus natural and obvious that the timber pieces will be damaged as they are pushed upwardly through higher timber pieces which are in the path of movement of the lifted timber pieces as they rise up out of the heap. It is furthermore a fact that the timber pieces frequently must be rotated so that they can be properly engaged by the grippers or projections of the lift. Particularly in this last connection the edges of the timber pieces are damaged and breaking of the timber pieces frequently occurs. However, such handling of the timber pieces is conventionally carried out only because the latter type of procedure are relatively fast, and the economical losses incurred by damage to the timber pieces are considered an inevitable evil.